Storytelling is all about setup and payoff, control and release. I won’t talk about the end of the first season of Hannibal, to protect those who haven’t seen it, but we can safely talk about the opening of season two. The new season begins this Friday, and the first significant scene in the first episode sets up the episodes that will follow, if not quite in the way you’d expect.

Watch a long clip from the scene below, which will also serve as an intro to the show for those who haven’t yet tuned in.

EW gave the heads-up on the clip and helps set it up. In short, FBI honcho Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) has shown up for dinner at the home of Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), and realizes that he’s in a bad position. From there he realizes that bad things are about to happen, and this fight breaks out:

Thing is, this scene is a flash-forward that takes place later in the second season timeline, but instantly sets up a sense of tension about how the story is going to develop. How did Crawford and Lecter get to this point? We’ll find out. Again: tension and release.